In the same way our bodies, like
plants need various ‘ingredients’ or nutrients to grow, so our spirit man (or
simply, spirit) needs proper nurturing for it to flourish. This is never instantaneous, but rather a
process that can sometimes be frustrating and seemingly fruitless in the
present but I can assure you it always produces fruit much greater than we
could ever imagine!
Below are a few of these
‘nutrients’ needed for us to grow. The list is in no way exhaustible as God
continually shows us new areas and ways of growth. If you have other tips or
suggestions, please add them in the comments section and we can all learn and
begin to apply them.
*Scheduled devotion/quiet time with God – We need to spend time alone
with God in the same way we do for other relationships that we desire to
flourish. This time spent with God is important for you to get your bearing,
for you to speak out genuinely and openly to Him as well as being silent and
still for Him to speak to you or prompt you in a certain direction. Your devotion
time can include prayer, singing, doing a guided devotional or pure reading of
His word – really there’s no formula, all you need is to take the dedicated
first step of making time daily to spend with God.
*Prayer time – This consists of your regular devotional prayer time
as well as being able to pray for things beyond the scope of Y.O.U! Sometimes
we get so caught up praying for ourselves, OUR needs and OUR desires that we
leave no room to pray for other people. You should individually or corporately
be involved in regular prayer time for needs beyond your own.
*Regular intake of the Word – Spend time reading the Bible. Before
you became a Christian, you fed your mind with all sorts of things and those
things eventually became the norm for you. Romans 12:1 says be transformed by
the renewal of your minds… The way to start living out that transformation, and
seeing it manifest is by reprogramming your mind with the Word of God. There
are truths you need to meditate on that you will only find IN the Bible,
lessons you need to learn, revelations God wants to give you, a lifestyle He
wants you to have and these can only become possible and a reality when you are
feeding on His word. You may choose to go chapter by chapter or alternatively
use a devotional guide to help you keep track of where you have reached and
give you some complementary insight to the scripture you have read.
*Memorizing Scripture – In Joshua 1:8, God asks Joshua to meditate
on His word day and night. How can you meditate on something you do not know or
have readily? Something that is not already on and in your mind? Instead of
spending lots of time stressing about issues or thinking about unproductive
stuff, how about you spend that time thinking through, digesting and repeating
to yourself God’s word? The Bible says that God’s word is living and powerful (Hebrews 4:12) – it can give you
strength in moments where you’d rather give up; give you renewed assurance and
faith in times of despair. If you have this word in your mind – ready to battle
with the enemy when He comes against you with all sorts of lies and accusations
(It’s the sword of the spirit – Ephesians
6:17), you will be able to live out a truly victorious Christian life. There
are various ways you can memorize scripture: Some people write out the verses
they wish to memorize on little flash cards, others print them out and stick
them on their mirrors or other regular reference places – find what works for
you and MEMORIZE THAT WORD!
*Fellowshipping in a Bible-based/ Bible teaching Church – Hebrews 10:25 “Do not forsake the
meeting together of brethren as some are in the habit of doing”. There is
something powerful about corporate worship – where believers come together to
sing, pray and sit at the feet of Jesus to hear His word. So many people
testifying of His goodness might be an encouragement or challenge to you or somehow
you might be an encouragement to them! God speaks and moves in various ways and
one of the ways is when His body comes together to worship. He instructed us to
come together to worship and there has to be good reason and sense for us to
obey that (as is with His other commands). I stated ‘Bible-teaching church’
because some churches are not teaching the Bible and are hence communicating a
false doctrine. Be sure to always check that the messages being preached and
the church’s statement of faith/beliefs are in alignment with the word of God –
The Bible. If you have queries and uneasiness about some things, pray about
them and speak to one of the pastors/leaders who should be willing to direct
you to scripture that explains why certain things have been put in place. There’s
no use in you being hyped up and excited when nothing’s actually changing and
you aren’t growing – there’s no growth outside Christ and His Word.
*Get involved – There has been some lackluster behavior in the
Church in recent years where the congregation believes that only an elect few are
called to be involved in ministry and in God’s work. We are all part of God’s
family (all part of the same body – Romans
12:4-8) and each in his/her little corner whether seen or unseen is crucial
for the effective functioning of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:12). Find your place, get involved. Many times God will
teach you lots of lessons on your attitude and dealing with people as you work
in His house so do not take this service lightly. Whether it is in ushering,
intercessory team, welcome committee, counseling, Sunday school, visitation
ministry, choir – you name it. There is always a need for a few extra hands in
Church, so instead of sitting back, mostly complaining about how wrong others
are doing it, get off your behind and find somewhere to give of yourself. Like
Celebration Ministry puts it: Involvement is the key to your destiny. Discipleship
too, takes place in the context of getting involved with others.
*Fellowshipping in a smaller group of believers e.g. Bible study or
Cell group – I cannot emphasize enough how crucial this is. In these groups
you are able to reflect on the message you heard in Church or alternatively on
specific bits of scripture and like I mentioned in a previous post. It is in the
discussing and sharing of the Word that a lot of truth becomes known to us and
others. Secondly, in these smaller groups, we are able to share personal
struggles, get godly advice on how to handle these (see
this post) as well as get people praying for us where we would
normally either have kept to ourselves or shared with people who wouldn’t be
able to help! Let’s face it – the bigger assemblies of believers – i.e. church
services are too massive to give individual attention to everyone and
therefore, you can end up feeling alone, uncared for and disconnected – beware
of this, the devil tries to isolate you so he can send all sorts of tricks your
way. Be proactive; join a Bible study or fellowship group as soon as possible. Additionally,
in these smaller groups, we are able to hold each other to living out God’s
word so that we are not simply hearers but also doers of the word (James 1:22).
*Music – I know this tends to be a touchy subject for many people
but music is one of those things I believe are very crucial facilitating
spiritual growth. The music you listen to goes into your sub-conscious, and
before you know it, you begin to speak, dream, act in a certain way because of
the things you feed your mind. I’m not saying that you necessarily have to
listen to medieval choirs sing hymns and stuff (if that’s not what you like) –
there’s a lot of contemporary (rock, r&b, hip-hop, jazz, afro-fusion, soul
and even neo-soul) gospel music that you can enjoy nowadays. Just be sure that
it’s based on God’s word though because many times we get hooked to stuff just
because of a couple nice-sounding ‘gospel-ish’ lines and before we know it, we
have misconceptions about who God is or our relationship with Him. Just be wise
and think twice before you play that song or watch that music video. (see Tashyb’s post on this)
*Walking in obedience – Being faithful in the little things causes
you to be awarded greater things to be a steward of (Luke 16:10). The Christian
life is not one of a ‘one-time-class’ and then graduation. We are constantly
being taught, constantly being tested, after we pass the test, we move on to
the next level (we grow). Think about the Israelites, walking round the desert
for 40years… If they had been obedient in the first place, this time would have
been much shorter. For some of you it may seem like things aren’t changing and
yet all you need to do is ask God what the lesson you need to learn is and learn
it, or what the task is and DO IT as he instructs. You might be limiting your
own growth just by being disobedient!
I pray that these will help you
in your quest to grow in God and know Him more and more. It is in Him that we
live, breathe and find our being (Acts
17:28). If you desire growth and want to see His kingdom come and will
being done in your life – spend time in His presence and in things that edify
you and bring Him praise. Before long, that transformation will shine through
and His light in you will draw many to Him.
My final note is that above all else, ask Him
to grow you, ask Him to teach you more and reveal His truth to you – He says
‘you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’ (Jeremiah
29:13)
